Richard Harper
Richard Preston Harper (later impersonated by a unwilling thug named Frank Wallace) is a character and one of the original characters on the long running series, Harpers Falls. He was originally played by the late GH actor, John Ingle. When the role was revealed to still be alive, the role was taken over in 2013 by former 24 actor, Xander Berkeley. However, he was revealed to be an unwilling thug named Frank Wallace. Unwilling imposter Richard is the head of the Harper family (he shares this title with his former sister in-law, Patricia Wheeler, while his oldest twin children, Michael and Michelle also serve as the family heads). He was the oldest son of Preston and Nellie Harper, whose ancestors founded Harpers Falls. He has three siblings. John, his deceased brother, who, before his death, had married India Delaney Hillman, and is considered a Harper; his sweet-natured, but strong willed sister, June; and his late sister, Marjorie Harper Franklin, a former real estate agent. Recently joining in the family was his late in life younger sister, Marilyn Harper At times, he was very irascible, but underneath that hard core, beat the heart of a major league softie. He was devoted to his family, and he was the head of the Harper business empire. Michelle runs the family company, Harper Industries; while his son, Jason is the headmaster of Harper Academy. He also is close to his other children, Jason's twin, Aaron; Michael; and his daughters, Samantha and Veronica. His other daughter, Erica has moved to Detroit, and is in hiding from the authorities and the FBI. He was the go-to person of choice of his grandson, Dylan, and he and his grandfather would always be talking about anything. The two had a special bond. At first, thought long dead, Richard had in reality not been dead, but what is it that brings him out of hiding? Nobody knows, and Richard will reveal all at the right time. Also for the first time since his wife's death, Richard has possibly found romance, with the now divorced Elspeth Bennett, having been matched up by her son, Steven and Samantha. However, he isn't really Richard. In reality his name is Frank Wallace, and he is being blackmailed by the wicked Erica Harper. His mission is to kill his grandson, Dylan, so as to leave the Harpers wide open for an attack by the vengeful Erica. Frank is not so sure he wants to kill Dylan whom he has done no wrong to, but Erica is making sure he does or his real wife, Lenore, dies at the hand of another of Erica's henchmen. Michael and Wendy are at present the only ones who realize that "Richard" is a fake. Nobody else knows and Frank is slightly nervous that someone has seen through his ruse. Besides Michael and Wendy, his other "granddaughter", Anyssa has figured out that he is an imposter. Erica is confident that nobody will unearth her scheme to kill her own nephew, but it's those under duress who sing the LOUDEST, as she may well wind up realizing, if Frank reveals the wicked scheme. Frank testified against Erica in her scheme, and he was given a reduced sentence. He then apologized to the family for his deceit and then went off to jail for his crimes. The real Richard Harper would have been proud of his owning up to what happened. Category:Characters Category:Harper family